[PHOTOS] 2 Non-Glacial Resorts in the Northern Hemisphere Are Open for the Season

We’re officially into fall, snowmaking has begun, and we’ve had dustings of snow at ski resorts across North America, whetting our appetite for winter. The days are getting shorter and colder, and the countdown to opening day is now on.

Levi’s ski and ski season started on Friday with gorgeous weather and the weekend was full of great events! ☀️

– Levi Ski Area

In Finland, they haven’t had to wait as long. Levi, the nation’s largest ski area, and Ruka, another one of the largest both opened on Friday, October 7th, 2022, the first non-glacial resorts in the northern hemisphere to do so.

Ruka’s winter season kicked off for the first time on Friday together with Arctic Weekend.

We got to enjoy the sunny slopes, Arctic Weekend games, workshops, panel discussions, movie premieres and most of all friends!

– Ruka Ski Area

In order to open early, the “two resorts use snow farming – saving piles of snow collected last spring under insulating covers.” This process protects the snow from the summer heat and slows the melting. Once October hits, the resorts spread what is left back onto the slopes as temperatures start to drop. Cooler temperatures, combined with snow farming and an earlier start to winter, given Finland’s position in the Northern reaches of the globe.

• Related: Mammoth Mountain, CA “Snow Farming:” A Dutiful Art on an Absolutely Massive Scale

As resorts are affected by climate change, dryer seasons, and earlier closing dates, nations and their ski areas will need to become more creative. Whistler and other European resorts have begun to use snow farming or covering of glaciers to prolong, or in this case, provide an early start. Courchevel uses the same technique in France and Kitzbühel in the Austrian Tirol, which is usually the first location without a glacier in the Alps to open.

So get ready. Do your snow dances and keep an eye on the skies. North America won’t be far behind…